Post Mortem: The War at Home
by blucougar57
Summary: An olive branch is extended... but will he accept it?
1. Break in Communication

For nearly a minute after Goren had walked out, both Detective Alex Eames and Captain Danny Ross stood in bewildered silence. When one of them finally found their voice, it was Ross, and he sounded as incredulous as he looked.

"Did I miss something? Does he _want_ me to fire him?"

Alex suspected it was a rhetorical question, and treated it accordingly. Shaking her head, she spoke angrily, and more to herself than to her captain.

"Son of a bitch… You're doing it again, Bobby…"

That drew Ross's attention, and he looked at her questioningly.

"Doing what again? What are you talking about, Detective?"

Alex shook her head.

"It's nothing," she muttered, and was about to head back to her desk when Ross intercepted her, and ushered her into his office instead.

"Don't, Detective Eames," he warned her. "Don't take the path your partner's taken. Talk to me. _What_ is he doing again?"

Alex faltered, realising that in trying to brush Ross off, she had done exactly what Bobby had been doing since the case began. Sighing, she walked over, and sank into one of the chairs, and tried to work out where to begin.

"Bobby has major abandonment issues. He expects everyone to leave him, and he tends to push them away himself… It's his warped way of trying to keep from being hurt. He did it when he was first partnered with me. It took me a long time to get it through his head that I wasn't easily pushed away. Now, he's doing it again… Pushing me away, and I just don't think I have the energy to fight him over it this time."

Ross watched her thoughtfully. He could see in her features the stress that he himself was feeling – the stress that had only been compounded by Bobby Goren's petulant behaviour. And yet, he wondered…

"Carmel Ridge?" he asked, and Alex threw him a puzzled look.

"Sorry?"

"I assume that's where he'll be headed?" Ross said. "To Carmel Ridge? To see his mother?"

Alex sighed, then, and nodded.

"Yes. Captain… You aren't going to… are you?"

At that, a wry smile touched Ross's lips.

"And give him the satisfaction? Not a chance. Seriously, Eames, if I can't cope with occasional conflicts with my people, then what sort of a captain am I going to be?"

Despite her own aggravation towards Bobby, Alex couldn't hold back the relieved smile that broke out over her features.

"Thankyou," she murmured sincerely. "He really isn't normally like that… and I promise I'll haul him back into line, if I have to kick him in the ass to do it."

"No, Detective, don't worry about it," Ross reassured her. "Just… go on home. Get some rest, and take tomorrow off."

Alex's eyebrows shot up.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Forget about the paperwork for now. It can wait a day or two. Consider it a makeup for Thanksgiving. Go, spend it with your family."

The genuine gratitude on her face at his words just about made his day. He stood in the doorway of his office, watching as she collected her bag and her coat, and headed out of the office. He waited until he was certain she'd gone before grabbing his own jacket, and heading out as well.

* * *

The drive to Carmel Ridge gave Ross the opportunity for some serious reflection and thought. The more he considered Goren's behaviour, the more he thought he understood him. It didn't excuse his insubordinate attitude, but it gave Ross some hope that he might have a chance at reaching some sort of resolution that wouldn't end with the dissolution of Goren and Eames' partnership, _or_ Goren losing his job. To his way of thinking, both of those possibilities were unacceptable.

Goren was a damned good cop. He knew this. He'd seen the man work, and was slowly coming to appreciate his unique skills and techniques. Above all, Ross did not want to lose Bobby Goren from his squad, and it was for that main reason that he was making this trip now.

Eames had said he had abandonment issues. That was something he could understand, and he could also understand the concept of pushing people away. You let someone get close to you, and you ran the risk of getting hurt. He'd been there, he knew what that was like. Apparently Goren did, as well. Ross wasn't exactly looking to bond with the man, but he thought he might be able to use the knowledge to the benefit of all of them, and maybe when they were all back at work, there might just be a better chance to heal the wounds that the last couple of days had opened up.

He pulled into the Carmel Ridge car park, and headed inside.

* * *

He heard the commotion long before he saw anything. It was hard to miss, with a high-pitched, panic-riddled voice screaming hysterical vitriol.

"_You're a bastard! Nothing but a scheming, ungrateful little bastard! You planned this, didn't you? You planned this to get rid of me! They got you after all!_"

"Mom, for God's sake…"

Ross recognised Bobby's voice, strained and tense, rising above his mother's hysterical rants.

"_No! You're not my son! You're just one of them. You have been all along, haven't you? They've had you all along! No, stay away from me…_"

Ross paused not too far from the doorway where the noise seemed to be coming from, and a moment later there was a loud crash, followed by an audible cry of pain.

"_Get out! Get out!_"

And then Bobby emerged, stumbling from the room with one hand clasped to his cheek. Blood streamed down his face, and down his neck to stain his shirt collar. A nurse followed him out and urged him to sit down in a chair in the hallway before hurrying back into the room.

Ross stood still and quiet for nearly a minute, torn over what to do. Finally, he made up his mind and approached his detective.

* * *

Bobby sat in silence, holding his bloodied cheek and struggling not to just give in to the grief and cry. He should have known better than to head back to Carmel Ridge when he stormed out of the bullpen, earlier, but his conscience and sense of responsibility towards his mother would allow him to do nothing else. Sure enough, when he got there, she had been well on the way to a fresh psychotic break. He'd recognised the signs, and had been helpless to stop it.

Her ranting echoed painfully in his ears. The doctors were either incompetent, or frauds, and they were all trying to kill her. It hadn't taken her long to reach the conclusion that because he had been the one to organise her treatment, then he had to be in collusion with the doctors. Therefore, in her sick mind, he was trying to kill her, too. From there, it had just degenerated until finally, when he attempted to physically restrain her so the doctor could sedate her, she'd picked up a tall glass from the nearby dresser and smashed it on his face.

He shuddered again, and couldn't quite find the strength to stop the tears that filled his eyes. He was still sitting there, unmoving, when a large, cream-coloured handkerchief descended into his line of sight. He looked up slowly, and couldn't conceal his shock to find his captain standing there, holding out the handkerchief as though it was some sort of libation.

"Take it," Ross prompted him. "It'll work better than your hand."

Bobby took it and, in the moment it took him to remove his hand from the wound and replace it with the handkerchief, Ross caught a glimpse of an ugly, jagged cut that ran from the bottom of Bobby's left ear, across his cheek and down to his jaw.

"That's going to need stitches," Ross remarked unnecessarily. Bobby stared up at him, undecided as to whether he should feel resentful or not that Ross had followed him to the centre.

"What are you doing here?"

Ross chose to ignore the tone of the question.

"I came after you because we have some things to sort out, Goren, and I was not willing to sit back and let you stew for the next forty-eight hours."

Bobby started to look away, prompting Ross to speak again.

"Look at me, Detective."

There was just enough authority there to draw Bobby's gaze back to him. Once he was sure he had Bobby's attention, Ross went on quietly.

"There was no excuse for your attitude today, or yesterday."

Bobby opened his mouth to speak, but Ross cut him off.

"No, let me finish. I said there was no excuse, but I can accept there was a reason. And, for the record, I have no intention of firing you." As he spoke those words, he couldn't miss the relief in Bobby's eyes, and it took some effort for him not to smile. "I'm not even going to reprimand you, although God knows I ought to. But I think you're going to have enough on your plate trying to make things up to your partner." The relief vanished, replaced by a genuine look of worry and fear. Ross interpreted it correctly, and decided to take pity on him. "The damage isn't irreparable, but I'll give you one strong piece of advice, and you'd better listen to it. Don't sit back and wait for your partner to extend the olive branch, Detective. You'd better be the one to make the first move, or you might just lose her after all. And I know you don't want that anymore than I do."

"I thought you'd be glad to see me walk," Bobby muttered. Ross answered that with a moment of silence.

"When I first took over as captain? I admit, I might have been. But now? No, Detective. I don't want that. I don't want to lose you from my squad, and I don't want to see my most productive team broken up. But you have to make the effort now. No one else."

Bobby did look away, then.

"I… I just don't know if I have the energy to do this anymore."

Ross fell silent as he contemplated that. He was still considering a suitable reply when one of the nurses emerged from the room, and made a beeline for Bobby.

"She's sedated now," she told him gently. Ross guessed from her tone and manner towards Bobby that this was a routine that had been played out many times before. "Come with me, Bobby. We'll do something about that cut."

Bobby glanced back at Ross, as though looking for an official dismissal. Old habits really were hard to break, he mused.

"Go on," Ross told him. "I'll wait for you here."

Bobby went in silence, still holding the now blood-soaked handkerchief to his face.

* * *

When Bobby returned, he found Ross standing in the door of his mother's room, observing her in sympathetic silence. He paused, unsure what to make of the scene before him, and was still trying to decide what to do when Ross looked around at him.

"Walk with me, Goren."

It wasn't a request, and Bobby fell in step beside the captain, if only because there was nothing else for him to do.

Not a word was spoken until they got outside, into the gentle sunlight and brisk air. Then, when Ross finally spoke, it was in a quiet, understanding tone.

"In my experience, there are few things worse that trying to juggle family responsibilities with your career, when you're a cop. I tried, and it ended up costing my marriage."

"I… I'm not going to apologise," Bobby vowed softly. Ross raised an eyebrow at him.

"Did I say I expected you to? Just hear me out, Goren."

Bobby nodded wordlessly. Yes, he could do that.

"Okay," Ross murmured. "I won't try to tell you that I understand your situation. I don't, and I won't try and push you into talking to me about it. If you won't talk to your partner of nearly seven years, then you're certainly not going to confide in a captain you've only known for a few months."

Bobby let his breath out in a rush. Coming from just about anyone else, he would have suspected those words to be a fairly lousy attempt at reverse psychology, but Ross didn't come across as the type of person to make a cheap-ass attempt at playing shrink to his underlings.

"I've always tried to keep this separate… to the job," he stammered. "I managed to, for a while… Until Nicole…"

Ross nodded. He knew the Nicole Wallace file well. The same day he'd taken over Major Case, Jim Deakins had phoned him and strongly advised him to read up thoroughly on Nicole Wallace. He'd done so, more out of curiosity than a sense of necessity, but by the time he was done, he understood what a deadly predator the woman was. And after watching all the interrogation tapes, he understood how badly she'd knocked Bobby off balance.

"Then last year… The Garrett case…"

Again, Ross needed no further explanation. Like just about every other cop in the city, he'd heard plenty about the ex-cop that Harold Garrett had bribed to come to Carmel Ridge and harass Frances Goren. He, along with every other cop he knew, had been disgusted by the dirty tactics at the time, and that disgust had been compounded as he'd stood in the doorway of Frances' room, watching her sleep.

"And now this," Bobby finished off, shoulders slumping heavily. Ross slowed to a halt and turned to look at him intently.

"I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to give me an honest answer. Do you want to quit?"

There was no way Bobby could hide the dismay he felt at the mere suggestion.

"No! No, sir… I don't."

"Okay. And I'm assuming you don't want a new partner?"

The ashen colour that Bobby went answered that question for him.

"I thought not," he mused. "So tell me, Detective. What _do _you want?"

"Wh… What do you mean?"

"You said before that you don't know that you have the energy to do this anymore. What did you mean, exactly?"

Bobby appeared flummoxed.

"I… Well… I meant that…" He hesitated, drawing in a long breath, and then speaking softly. "My mom is sick. She's got cancer… The doctors are talking in… in weeks, not months."

"I'm sorry," Ross murmured sincerely. Bobby sighed softly.

"The schizophrenia makes it worse… She's demanding… and she gets abusive when I can't give her all my time."

"Did you consider requesting leave to take care of her?" Ross wondered, but Bobby shook his head.

"I… couldn't do that. I'd go crazy, not having the job to focus on. I need my job, Captain."

"That's reassuring to hear, Detective. And I need you on the job. So does your partner. That's why we need to find a compromise right here and now, so that what happened today and yesterday doesn't happen again."

Bobby stared at him, confused and helpless to suggest a solution.

"It doesn't have to be this painful, Detective," Ross said after a long, awkward silence. "I'm only asking one thing of you. When it's starting to get to be too much for you, talk to someone. If you can't come to me, then go to your partner. She tried damned hard to help you out yesterday. Don't push her away, for your own sake."

Bobby's shoulders slumped heavily.

"I'm sorry, Captain," he whispered, his voice shaking just slightly. Ross regarded him seriously.

"Apology accepted. But you'd better damn well offer Eames more than just words."

"I will," Bobby murmured. He paused, looking quizzically at Ross. "Captain… Why did you come here? Really…"

A wry smile crossed Ross's lips as they began to walk again.

"You don't remember our last private conversation, do you, Goren?"

"Sir?"

"In Murphy's Tavern?"

The baffled look on Bobby's face answered for him.

"Well, all you need to know is that I _do_ remember it… but this time, I thought I wouldn't wait until you were plastered again to have it out with you. I want us to be able to work together, Goren. I know it's going to take time to build up a decent level of trust, but I'm willing to work at it if you are. And, just between us… Don't take it personally if you think I'm being too hands on with your cases. I've been told I can be a little bit anal about that. It's a habit, and I have no intention of quitting now."

Bobby smiled, despite himself, and a soft chuckle escaped him before he could stop it. Ross smiled in response, coming to a halt out the front the Centre's doors, and offered his hand to Bobby. The detective took it without hesitation.

"Truce, Detective?" Ross asked lightly, and Bobby's smile widened fractionally.

"Yes, sir. Thankyou, Captain."

"Just make sure you start the day off right when you come back to work the day after tomorrow. I think you know what I mean."

Bobby nodded, too astounded to question the fact that Ross was effectively given him a day off despite his actions over the last two days.

"Yes, sir," he murmured with sincere gratitude, his mind already forming ideas of how to reconcile himself with his partner. "I do."

* * *

_tbc..._


	2. Reconnecting

_A/N: It's certifiable. I'm an idiot. But I blame it on it being the first working day of the new year. This is the second, and **last** part of this fic. There is no more to come. I didn't mean to put 'tbc' at the end - that was purely a reflexive thing. And now that I have finished smacking myself over the head, I am reposting this chapter, minus the blasted 'tbc'._

_

* * *

_

Two days later

Alex Eames walked back into the Major Case bullpen with mixed emotions. A large part of her was anxious to see Bobby again, to talk to him and try and patch up their falling out from a couple of days ago, but an equally large part was still angry with him over his attitude and behaviour, and how he'd pushed her away from him.

She'd spent the previous day with her family, as Ross had suggested, but she'd not really been able to relax and enjoy it. Her mind had been full of worry about Bobby. Where was he? Well, she supposed she knew that. He was with his mother, of course... Assuming that Ross had given him the day off as well. Regardless of Bobby's behaviour, she reflected, he was still owed that day as much as she was.

The thought had crossed her mind more than once that she'd be more than a little angry at Ross if she got in that next morning to find that Bobby had been forced to work while she'd been given the day off.

The other thought that had crossed her mind, and was a much more unwelcome possibility, was that perhaps Bobby really had quit or... worse in her mind... requested a new partner. _That_ would be an irony, she thought grimly as she rounded the corner into the bullpen. After everything that had happened, that it would be Bobby who would be the one to ask for a new partner.

She passed Mike Logan, offering him a half-hearted attempt at a smile, and continued on to her desk, not daring to look up for fear that Bobby wasn't there. She really didn't want her partnership with him to end, and if he had indeed quit for real, she was going straight to Carmel Ridge to kick his ass. There was no way in hell she was going to sit back and let him throw his career away just because he was going through a difficult time.

She hung up her jacket, sat down at her desk, and froze, her heart skipping a beat.

Sitting on her desk, waiting for her to arrive, was a small, delicately wrapped cake box, and a brand new Santa mug that was filled to the brim with the most delicious coffee she had ever smelt. She felt her heart melt even before she made herself look up.

The Santa mug was the most obvious and touching gesture for a peace offering she could have imagined him putting forward. It had been Bobby who had been the one to break the original, unintentional though it had been, and she had to admit she'd been seriously pissed off with him over it. He'd been sitting on the edge of her desk at the time... she couldn't remember now what he'd been doing... and in a moment of typical Bobby-carelessness, he'd knocked the mug off the desk, and it had smashed beyond repair on the floor.

He'd tried to apologise, but she'd refused to listen, too upset at losing her father's keepsake. She recalled that he'd given up trying to offer his apology, and the breaking of the mug had remained a point of tension between them for sometime. When she'd acquired a pencil cup a couple of weeks later, she had kept it very firmly on her side of the desk, glaring at him when he automatically began to reach across to help himself. He'd caught her look very clearly, and hadn't tried again.

In that respect, she thought sadly, the tension between them had been building for a while. It had been compounded by the Gage case, and her kidnapping, and by the Wizneski case where Bobby had ended up being threatened at gunpoint after negotiating her release. This latest case had simply pushed them both to breaking point. It was no wonder they were both so badly at odds, she thought.

Picking up the mug, she took a sip of the coffee, and sighed happily. If nothing else, Bobby knew her tastes in coffee too well. Hot, black and sweet. The Santa mug, she observed after satisfying her momentary need for caffeine, was not exactly alike the one that had been broken, and for that she was glad. It would probably have only made it worse if it had been exactly the same.

She glanced up then, to his desk, and was vaguely surprised and a little disappointed that he wasn't there. A quick glance around, though, revealed him to currently be in the captain's office. Her heart almost stopped at that, until she realised that Bobby was actually smiling, and so was Ross. Though she still felt a small twinge of fear, she heartily tried to reassure herself that it was a good thing for all of them.

Looking away, she returned her attention to the box, and curiosity won over finally. She opened it up carefully, and her eyebrows shot up a moment later.

Inside the box was a small, delicate cake that was just big enough for one person. It was a chocolate cream cake, if she wasn't mistaken; but although chocolate cream was definitely up there among her favourites, it wasn't the cake itself that suddenly had her eyes watering. There were words on the icing of the cake, small and delicate, but clearly not done professionally. Which meant Bobby had to have done it himself, and that alone was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

_I'm so sorry_

That was all it said, and it was more than enough.

A shadow fell across her, and she looked up to see him standing there, an anxious look on his face. She opened her mouth, intending to tell him everything was okay, but he silenced her by pressing a finger gently to her lips.

"Don't say anything yet," he begged her, and she wondered if he had a clue how much she actually appreciated this small gesture. "Just... come with me? Please?"

She conceded, as much out of curiosity as a need to assure him that she wasn't mad at him anymore. Or, perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that she was not _as_ mad at him. Either way, she was anxious to make him understand that there was nothing irreconcilable between them.

Rising up, she allowed him to slip her jacket back on over her shoulders, and lead her back out of the bullpen.

* * *

From his office, Ross smiled to himself as he watched Bobby lead Alex out. Bobby had taken his words from two days ago to heart, and had gone all out to convince his partner that he was sorry for his behaviour. When Bobby had arrived that morning with the cake box and the coffee-laden Santa mug in hand, Ross had watched and waited until he'd set the gifts down at Alex's desk before calling him into his office.

Bobby appeared more upbeat than he had virtually since Ross had first met him, and when Ross inquired as to his mother's wellbeing, Bobby had told him that she was responding well to the chemotherapy, and had finally settled down and was accepting the treatment. More than that, his brother had finally surfaced and had, if somewhat reluctantly, agreed to share the load of staying with Frances.

It was clearly a huge relief to Bobby, and Ross felt some of that relief as well. They'd talked for a few more minutes until Ross noticed Alex had arrived, and shooed Bobby out of his office to go and talk to her.

Now, he returned to his desk with a feeling that things were finally going to work themselves out. He smiled to himself. It was a damned good feeling.

* * *

It was as they rode down together in the elevator that she finally noticed the laceration on his cheek, and she couldn't suppress a gasp of horror at the sight.

"God... Bobby, what happened to your face?"

There was nothing but anxious concern in her tone, he noted with silent relief. Recalling Ross's words of advice, and ignoring his instinctive desire to change the subject, Bobby answered her honestly.

"When I went back to Carmel Ridge after... the other day... Mom was in a pretty bad state. She... She had a break... and she smashed a glass on my face. It... It looks a lot worse than it is."

Alex marvelled that Bobby had willingly answered her question, and not tried to change the subject. When she'd asked, she had expected him to duck the question, and had braced herself for the anticipated brush-off. She wondered just what Ross had said to Bobby, that he had answered her openly. She didn't know, but she was grateful.

"I'm sorry," she murmured. She reached up to brush her fingers oh-so-lightly over the injury, and was mildly surprised – and very heartened – when he leaned in towards her touch rather than pull away.

"I'm sorry, too," Bobby murmured. He caught her hand in his own, and squeezed it gently. She was surprised again that he didn't let go when the elevator doors slid open. "C'mon," he encouraged her.

"Where are we going?" Alex asked as he urged her along, and out of One Police Plaza.

"Somewhere peaceful, where we can talk properly."

Her eyebrows went up at his choice of words, but she didn't protest, and let him lead her away from work.

* * *

She soon discovered what he had in mind when they reached Central Park, and he guided her towards the horse and carriage that was waiting.

"Bobby..." Alex started to say, but he silenced her with a warm, shy smile.

"Trust me?"

It only took her a moment to realise that yes, she did still trust him as much as she ever had.

"Okay," she acquiesced, and allowed him to help her up into the carriage. She could only sit in amused silence as he exchanged brief words with the driver, and then pulled the blanket up over them both, and produced a thermos of coffee from beneath the carriage seat.

"You had this planned?" she asked, astonished. Again, he smiled shyly, and she felt a buzz of warmth go through her. It was that smile of his that she had missed for so long – that beautiful, genuine smile that he seemed to reserve exclusively for her.

"Last minute," he confessed as the carriage began its run around Central Park. "But I couldn't think of a better place where we could talk without being interrupted. And... I know I needed to do something out of the ordinary to make up for being a... a jackass."

He felt the laughter pass through her more than he heard it.

"Bobby... You just nailed it. You were a jackass, but I did understand. I was more angry because you wouldn't talk to me. Why wouldn't you talk to me?"

Bobby drew in a shuddering breath.

"G... Garrett."

She regarded him in confusion.

"Judge Garrett? What does he have to do with this?"

"Not him personally... You... You remember when you came in... and I was on the phone to Carmel Ridge? After Garrett sent that ex-cop to harass Mom?"

She nodded wordlessly. Yes, she remembered that all too well. Bobby went on quietly.

"When I hung up, you asked me if my mom was okay... but I couldn't answer. I... I wanted to, but I couldn't. Mom has always been my responsibility... I couldn't just drop that and start sharing... Not then, and not now."

"That's why you didn't answer each time I asked you about her," Alex deduced, and Bobby nodded.

"Yes. That's why. I... I don't mean to shut you out. It's just become a habit that I can't break. Not... Not overnight. I'm sorry that I snapped at you. I know you were trying to help, and I appreciated it. But I just didn't know how to express it... and then the tension just got to be too much to deal with, and I... I..."

He trailed off as she slipped her arm through his, and hugged in against him.

"Apology accepted," she murmured. "And, I'm sorry, too."

It was his turn to be puzzled.

"What do you have to be sorry for?"

"For not understanding when you needed me to," she told him with sincere regret. "When you came back... after your little spring cleaning effort..."

A smirk touched his lips at her description of the tantrum he'd had that resulted in him sweeping the entire contents of his desk onto the floor.

"When you came back, I know you were trying to move forward, and I just made it worse by brushing you off. I'm sorry for that, Bobby."

Silence fell for the next few minutes, and Alex smiled as Bobby gently detached his arm from hers, only to slip it around her shoulders and draw her in close.

"Captain'll have a fit if he finds out about this," she said, and Bobby laughed softly.

"Don't be so sure. It was his suggestion. He organised the carriage for us."

She raised her eyes to him, incredulous.

"Excuse me? Are you telling me that our new captain set us up for a romantic horse and carriage ride around Central Park?"

She thought the shade of red that Bobby's face turned was adorable but, to her great interest, he didn't deny the romantic bit.

"He... He followed me to Carmel Ridge," Bobby explained softly. "After I left, he came after me. We talked... and he told me that if I couldn't talk to him when things got bad, then I had to at least try to talk to you."

"He's right," Alex mused. "You need to be willing to talk to me, Bobby. You can't keep it all to yourself like you've been doing. It's not healthy; not for you, and not for us."

"I know," Bobby whispered, feeling his throat threatening to close up on him. "I'll try, I promise I will. But... it might not always happen..."

Alex slipped her arms around his waist, and hugged him tightly.

"I know, Bobby. I don't expect you to be able to overcome those mindsets overnight. But if you're willing to keep trying, then that's good enough for me."

"I... I was scared you'd ask Ross for a new partner," Bobby admitted softly. She frowned.

"You ought to know me better than that, Bobby. It'll take a lot more than you being a jackass to push me away."

They both laughed, easily and together, feeling more relaxed and at ease in each other's company than they had for a long time. Suddenly, impulsively, Bobby leaned in close and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. Alex regarded him curiously.

"What was that for?"

"For everything," he told her sincerely. "I... I don't know where I'd be without you."

Her smile widened and, in response, she stretched up to place a lingering, but chaste kiss on his lips.

"Just remember that the next time you feel like being a jackass," she told him as she settled back in the seat, happily snuggling in against him. Bobby smiled lovingly at her.

"I will," he murmured softly. "I promise."

* * *

****

**_Fin._**


End file.
